My boyfriend was charged with DUI 5 years ago. It’s a serious offense and as expected his auto insurance rate in New York increased so much after that incident. Ever since, we never saw any decrease on his car insurance rate again. We’re thinking of switching to another auto insurance company because it’s really getting too much for him to pay for his car insurance premium. But, I just wanna know first how long does DUI stay in a person’s record? Is five years enough for that to be removed from my boyfriend’s record?

Barbara

Buffalo, NY

In the state of New York (or anywhere else in the United States) being convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) is considered a very serious violation. And I don’t know anybody who are charged with this that did not see an increase on his/her auto insurance rate after the DUI citation.

Being charged guilty of alcohol or drug related driving violation normally results in license suspension. As to your question, such violation stays on a person’s driving record for a period of ten years. However, if your boyfriend is charged with DUI within that period, that would only result for additional penalties on your boyfriend’s part.

Since you’ve mentioned that you are considering of switching to another car insurance company, then I would suggest you try the websites to get auto insurance quotes in New York.

I am only sixteen and I would like to know how much car insurance cost should I be expecting?

Miguel

Paterson, NJ

The best way to determine the car insurance costs is to get car insurance quote. You can begin here by typing in your zip code in Paterson, New Jersey.

Different rating factors go into consideration when it comes to your car insurance rate. You need to provide that information when you get car insurance quote form, and these car insurance providers will calculate your car insurance rate based on the information you provided to tell any sixteen year old how much their auto insurance will cost will be. There are a lot of factors that go into a car insurance rate. On the average, a sixteen year old may expect to pay 2.52 x the base rate for their auto insurance. For instance if your parents pay five hundred dollars a year for car insurance, then a sixteen year old may expect to pay $1260 for a year for auto insurance. You need to be rated with all the rating factors to provide an accurate car insurance rate. For instance, in Paterson, New Jersey a sixteen year old may pay 3.2 x the base rate.

My cousin received a traffic ticket while driving in California. She was advised by her boyfriend to pay more than the amount of the ticket so that her auto insurance company in Alameda, California will not settle this incident. According to her boyfriend, with this violation not being settled, her car insurance rates will not go up. Is there any truth on that?

Charlene

There is absolutely no truth on that. This scenario is one of the popular car insurance myths. Let me explain to you first how this myth works.

They say that if a person pays too much on his or her traffic ticket then the court would not be able to close out the traffic. Therefore, the policy holder’s auto insurance company would fail to see that it has been on your record for some time.

Another version of this myth is if a driver pays a dollar more than the actual fine to the court, then the court would have to send a refund for the extra amount the driver paid. And the driver should never cashed out the refund so it will not reflect on his or her record since the transaction is not yet finalized. This violation will only be closed, once the court has a record of the driver paying for the said fine, meaning to say, the driver had already settled the exact amount due. And on this case, the driver cashing out the refund for the extra amount he or she paid.

However, the truth about this is no matter how much you pay more on your fine would never affect your traffic offense in any way. It will still be recorded thus your cousin’s auto insurance company will still find about the violation. As to your question if her auto insurance rate it will go up, I’m afraid it might. However, she still needs to ask her auto insurance agent in Alameda, CA because that still depends on her insurer company’s guidelines. If she sees an increase on her auto insurance rate, then I would suggest she start looking for new auto insurance companies. She can do that by checking our website for auto insurance premium.

I was involved in a vehicular accident while driving in Florida. I was the at-fault party and I caused injuries to the other people involved. I know I am required to carry SR-22 Am I also required by law to pay for the damages I’ve caused to the involved party for me to be able to reinstate my license in Gainesville, Florida?

Dianne

If a vehicular accident happened on the streets of Florida that resulted to bodily and property damages, your home state’s Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle (HSMV) will ask the owner or the operator of the car to provide proof of full liability insurance coverage at the time of the accident.

The requirement for the full liability car insurance coverage should include and meet the minimum requirements of: bodily injury liability policy ($10,000/ person and, $20,000/ crash and $10,000 property damage liability/crash,) and personal injury protection/pip ($10,000/ person/ crash)

If no proof of auto insurance is provided, then he or she will be asked to purchase and maintain SR-22 form for a period of 3 years. In addition to that, the at-fault party must also secure release from their victims, to prove that they were compensated for the damages they have incurred from the said accident.

So to answer your question, aside from keeping SR-22 form, yes you are also required to pay for the damages of the other party.

For more information on how you can reinstate your license , you may check with the Florida HSMV.

I’ve been involved in a serious car accident here in Roswell, Georgia. Fortunately I only have scratches to show for it but my car is completely wrecked! Will my car insurance company replace my car pay for a new one?
Elmer
Whether your car insurance provider there in will replace or reimburse you for the whole price of your wrecked vehicles depends on the amount of coverage you’ve sign up with them from the beginning. Your car insurance company will generally consider some factors before deciding to declare a total car loss, namely, the total amount it would take to repair the damages on your vehicle covered under the policy, and Actual Cash Value of the vehicle itself. When this happens, your auto insurance provider is under obligation to reimburse you the necessary money to return you to the same position you were, financially speaking, prior to having your car loss. So expect a check to be provided to you minus any deductibles you may have on your policy.
It will be interesting to note though that the car insurance will take possession of the wrecked vehicle and bring it to its final resting place, the salvage yard, to be placed for bidding or resale of parts. If you want to keep your damaged car you would need to inform them early on as once the car is delivered to the salvage yard you have little chance of getting it back. You would still be reimbursed for the actual cash value of the vehicle, minus the deductible and any amount that the insurance could have made if it sold the vehicle but you would have to shoulder the cost of having it repaired, rechecked, and reregistered which on some states could be prohibitively expensive.

Since this is my first time to buy a car, I know I need to have it insured. What should I consider or need to know before I buy my very first auto insurance policy?

Ellie

It is always a good idea to know how car insurance works before actually getting one, especially for first time car owners who may not know exactly what they will need to get and end up wasting thousands of dollars yearly paying for something they didn’t really need. Here’s an overview of what you need to know about car insurance and the best way to choose the right car insurance for you:

Your state will have a minimum insurance coverage limit you will need to buy. It is a good rule of thumb to get as high a coverage as you can afford since most accidents will incur damages and expenses that amounts to well beyond what the minimum state requirement mandates. You will need to focus on getting bodily liability coverage (pays for medical expenses to treat injuries or hospitalization to others if you caused the accident), collision or property liability damage (pays for damages and repairs due to collision against another car, any object or properties) and Personal Injury protection (PIP), also known as Medical Payments coverage (pays for you or the people insured in your vehicles medical treatment regardless of who caused the accident). These are the top 3 most basic types of insurance you will want to get as high of coverage as you can comfortably pay for.

You should also try to get Comprehensive insurance protection for loss due to non-car accident related events (vandalism, theft or natural disasters) as well as underinsured or uninsured motorist liability insurance which covers you by making sure the other at-fault party is required to pay for the damages incurred that goes beyond the maximum limit of your coverage.

I was cited for a moving violation and was given a ticket. I took up defensive driving course to remove points from my driving record in Citrus Park-Fern Lake, Florida. According to my instructor who is a FL trooper, as required by Florida state law, car insurance companies cannot increase auto insurance rates given that points were removed and it’s not an accident ticket. This happened several years ago. Can you give me a clearer explanation about this?

Regina

Certainly Regina!

Following are the benefits you would get if you chose to enroll and complete the basic driving improvement course:

First, your car insurance rate CANNOT be increased in the same matter that it CANNOT be canceled. This however is provided that your violation does not include a vehicular accident that you are the at-fault party and;

Second, the adjudication of guilt is withheld, there are no demerit points that may be added on your driving record, clean driving record is maintained (if applicable on your part), and fine for said moving violation will be reduced for as much as 18%. However, you must remember that you can only avail of this option if you haven’t taken this in the past 12 months or 1 year. And the maximum number of time that a person can use this is not more than five times in their lifetime.

To answer your question, then you don’t have to worry because your car insurance rate in Florida cannot be increased. For more information, you can contact the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

I cannot live without my cell phone. So, I’m using it almost all the time. While driving around Albany an officer stopped me and gave me a ticket for using a cell phone while driving. I am going to pay the fine but worries me is that are there any points involved with this violation? Will it affect my car insurance rate?

Paola

Albany, New York

You don’t drive and use your cell phone in New York because that is against the law. NY State Law does not allow anyone to operate a moving vehicle and use a mobile phone at the same time. If you are caught with this violation you will be asked to pay a fine of not exceeding $100 and mandatory surcharge amounting to $50.

But there are exemptions on this rule. You are allowed to use your cell phone while driving for emergency purposes only like calling 911, police, fire, or calling for medical assistance.

This kind of violation is not regarded as a probationary license violation. The NY Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) does not assign any point violation on your driving record. So to answer your first question, there are no points associated with this violation. Regarding your car insurance rate if it will go up, that you need to ask with your car insurance company in Albany, New York. However, in general auto insurance companies do not increase their rate after a minor violation like this. But succeeding violations may lead to an increased car insurance rate.

I have to pay a $35 premium extra because I made a change of address. What would happen if I change my address back to the old one to avoid the increase? I only have 3 more months out of my insurance contract in Wilmington DE, plus I’m planning to buy a different insurance now in Queens NY. What are the consequences of living in a new home but car my insurance is from the old address?

Jenny

Your insurance rate is based on the risk your new address in Queens, New York represents; if there are more accidents or thefts in your new city, you will pay a higher premium.

If you’re going to lie about this to your insurance company in Wilmington DE, you’re a candidate for committing insurance fraud. This has serious consequences like the possibility of your claims being denied, paying fines, etc.; so it’s as good as not having insurance at all.

Many car insurance companies are in the practice of determining basic rates, not only basing it on the driver’s record, but more importantly on the buyer’s zip code. The reason behind this is that, in some areas, statistics show a greater number of collisions and claims filed. Perhaps, insurance companies believe that bad drivers seem to congregate in certain areas.

You’ve already changed your address so there’s a red flag you if you changed it back to the old address. And if you don’t do a change of address, NY DMV will update it for you in about 60 days, there’s really no way around it. When you switch companies, ask them what tips they can give you on keeping your premium low. Good luck.

I’m 18 years old and I’d like to know how long will it take for my insurance costs in Shreveport, LA to go down?

Cheri

Generally, when a driver turns 25 years old, car insurance premiums tend to go down. Based on statistics, drivers under age 25 are more at risk to get into accidents due to their immaturity and inexperience at driving. Insurance companies’ risk assessors feel that those young people who are 25 years of age or older tend to think more responsibly thus decreasing their risk of getting into an accident that was their fault.

Age, marital status, sex and accident statistics are factors used by insurance companies to classify drivers. You still would have to check with your current car insurance provider in Shreveport LA to know for sure if your premiums will decrease once you turn 25 since rating systems can differ from one car insurance company to another.

Though turning 25 may mean decreasing premiums, a person has to hold a clean driving record. The rates may not be any lower once the driver reaches 25 simply because the bad driving record will cancel out the decrease in your rates.

You can also build good credit history while you’re still young. Your credit rating and the number of claims you may be expected to file with your car insurance company are believed to have a statistical correlation. So, depending upon where you live, there are many insurance companies that will charge you more if you have bad credit, but they will reward you by giving you a discount if you have good credit.